Blackpool Pleasure Beach is to unveil its new £8m rollercoaster, Infusion, in May.

Infusion is the world’s first suspended looping coaster (SLC) to be built completely over water and is the tallest SLC in the UK.

Two trains carrying 16 passengers each will reach speeds of more than 50mph over 675m (2,200ft) of track set over 4.4m litres of water and riders will experience a maximum G-Force of +4.5Gs.

Pleasure Beach deputy managing director, Nick Thompson, said: “With all the hype recently about the supercasino being awarded to Manchester and with many reports writing off Blackpool as a result, I am sure many sceptics are wondering why my family are investing £8m in a new coaster.

"Our family has invested in the Blackpool since Pleasure Beach first opened in 1896 and we have every faith in our town.

“Pleasure Beach is constantly changing as we have to keep up the latest in technology and maintain our history and heritage where possible.

“We continue to be the most visited tourist attraction in the UK and welcome almost six million visitors every year – so we must be doing something right – and I am sure with the arrival of Infusion we see a lot more visitors this year.”